Halloween in 1984 “As told to” Mary Hickey
So this wasn’t that weird a day until right after dinner, when two kids from the neighborhood knocked on our front door. That was normal enough, since they sometimes come to play with my brother and me. But this time, they were dressed in strange clothes and had second faces over their real faces. Scary looking faces, too! I only knew who they were from their voices.
Then instead of staying to play, they asked for “trick or treats”, and Mom and Dad gave them each the choice of a book or an old tennis ball. They took the tennis balls, which is what I would have done also. But then, I’m only ten months old and I can’t read yet.
Dad wanted to go “trick or treating”, but he’s too old for it. I guess this is just for kids, though I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because they need to have the grown-ups hand out the trick or treats? Dad asked my brother if he wanted to go out with him, but he said no, he’d rather watch all the kids come in their costumes.
So what does Dad do? Put me in a brown sleeper and a groundhog face cover that he called a “mask”. They bought them for pictures in case I was born on Groundhog Day, which was my due date. I wasn’t, I got here early, which hasn’t been my habit since then—more about that some other time.
Then we went outside and he carried me around from house to house, telling people, “Look, I caught a groundhog!” They all laughed and threw candy and other treats into a bag he was carrying. It got dark quickly, but we kept on going until his bag was almost full. Then we went back to the house, but Mom said I shouldn’t eat anything from Dad’s bag. She mashed up a banana for me, which I ate because I like those things even though I haven’t figured out how to peel them yet.
So now it’s much later, and I’m in my crib. I have time to wonder now why every time I think I’m getting things figured out, something odd happens as if to tell me I may never know it all. Maybe life is like that for my brother, too, and even for Mom and Dad, who knows?
I’m feeling a bit sleepy now, so I guess I’ll sign off. Good night, and Happy Halloween!
Halloween in 1984
